YouTube takes down Greenpeace Shell video

Video of our rather hilarious hijack of Sunday's Shell-sponsored Formula 1 ceremony has been pulled by YouTube following a "Copyright" (AKA "Embarrassment") complaint. While the take down appears to have been ordered by the Formula 1 organisers, we suspect Shell is pleased. They may even be behind it. Now, why would we think that?

Well, it wouldn't be the first time that a corporation has tried to silence a Greenpeace parody or critical piece by claiming they own their name and therefore any content mentioning them.

So far, nobody has contacted us about a copyright violation for THIS copy of the video. We must warn you, however, that you should not share or link this video: millions of us may be held liable for copyright infringement, and Shell has made enough money destroying our planet that they could, conceivably, go after us all. So be a good internet and do as the coporate petroleum giant says, will you? (We're kidding. Please download and share!)

But Shell may want to note that in court case after court case, our legal right to free speech has triumphed every single time it's been tested against a corporate giant who thinks they can silence criticism with trademark law. Thankfully, that's not the way the world works -- in part thanks to the vigilance of internet freedom fighters against laws like SOPA. This is another example of why we must continue to defend our rights to free expression on the internet over the intellectual property rights of would-be corporate censors.